Northside Montessori School

Current Northside 6-9 parents, can click here to login into the 6-9 classes.

What makes Montessori 6 – 9 Classes Different?

Within a 6 – 9 classroom there is always much going on so much so that it may be difficult to gain a sense of what work is actually being achieved. Some students may be working in math, some are reading, while others are working in science and one might wonder where the teacher is. The teacher, known as Director or Directress, is probably in the corner giving a lesson to a small group of children. At first glance the 6 – 9 classrooms may appear to be unstructured, but this seemingly ‘random’ activity is the basic nature to the independent learning and self directed activity of the Montessori approach. Each child in the classroom is considered as an individual. The Director/Directress of the 6 – 9 classroom approaches each child individually and as such arranges lessons and challenges according to the developmental needs and abilities of the individual child. The Montessori 6 – 9 environment gives children the opportunity to progress at their own pace in an environment that nurtures a love of learning. Children take responsibility for their own learning and have opportunities to make decisions and choices regarding their own development and interests. Yet at the same time they are exposed to many complex concepts at an early age through the use of the concrete learning materials. Children in the 6 – 9 need to establish social relationships with the larger society of the world. It is at this stage that the child sees the actions of others as right or wrong, fair or unfair. This preoccupation with moral decisions is a specific sensitivity to the 6 – 9 child and is valuable to their moral education. The adult must be aware of the development that is occurring in the mind of the child and adapt their methods to respond to it.

The 6 – 9 class operates as a small social community in which children work together, resolve conflicts peacefully, encourage each other and work as committees to complete tasks, along with the making of class rules and having a role in the procedures and decisions made for the class.

Multi-age Class Groups

There are many reasons why Montessori classes group children of several age and grade levels together, but above all these are NOT composite classes.

• The Montessori environment allows children to progress at their own pace and as such there is no need for academic segregation based on age or ability.
• In a mixed class, children always find peers who are working at their level.
• Younger children are stimulated by the interesting work of the older ones.
• Older students serve as tutors and role models which help them in their own mastery and leave them with a sense of pride.
• By working with the same child for three years the teacher gets to know the child extremely well.

The classroom life of the 6 – 9 child is not behind a desk all day long, in fact many children prefer to work on the floor. Students work together most of the time both helping one another with materials or projects and encouraging each other to do their best.


Academics

In Montessori, the ‘basics’ are not merely the curriculum expectations such as the memorisation of math facts, spelling lessons, creative writing, etc. In the 6 – 9 class the child is offered the basics through world myth, history, geography, civics, sciences, math, language and the basic organisation of human society.

The children explore the subjects through concrete materials and imagination progressing towards developing into the abstraction later in the 6 – 9 period. In the 6 – 9 program, curriculum matter is not treated as separate areas but rather everything is interrelated. The subjects weave in and out of each other complementing one another.